The top reported proficiency rate is 81% in Math. The lowest is 65% in Science.
Original Research by School Decision on Deer Park Elementary School
Deer Park Elementary sits in the Citrus Park area of Tampa, a residential corridor in the northwestern part of the city, well removed from the downtown core and the denser urban neighborhoods closer to the Hillsborough River. The surrounding area reflects the broader Tampa pattern of spread-out residential development, where most families rely on cars and school campuses anchor neighborhood life rather than transit or walkable commercial streets.
The school serves prekindergarten through fifth grade with an enrollment that puts it on the larger end for an elementary school. The student body is notably diverse: white students make up less than half of enrollment, with Hispanic and Asian students each representing substantial shares, and the remaining population spread across other groups. The share of students qualifying for free or reduced-price lunch is well below the majorities seen at many Hillsborough County elementaries, pointing to a relatively economically stable community. Data on English learners and students with IEPs was not available in what we reviewed.
On Florida's FAST assessments, the school's math results are a genuine strength. Fourth-grade math proficiency is especially high, and third- and fifth-grade math results are solid as well, all sitting comfortably above what most Florida elementary schools report. Reading and ELA tell a more mixed story. Proficiency rates across third, fourth, and fifth grade in ELA land in the low-to-mid sixties and low seventies range, which is serviceable but noticeably below the school's own math performance and closer to the middle of the state distribution. Fifth-grade science proficiency is in a similar range to ELA. Multi-year trend data was not available, so it is hard to say whether these patterns are improving or holding flat. A parent who wants to understand what's driving the gap between strong math outcomes and more modest reading outcomes would be well served asking the school directly.
No program offerings data was available for Deer Park Elementary, so information about enrichment, gifted services, after-school programming, or special initiatives is a gap here. Graduation rates and AP or dual-enrollment pathways do not apply, since the school ends at fifth grade. Discipline data, chronic absenteeism figures, and attendance rates were also absent from what we reviewed.
The housing market immediately around the school reflects the premium attached to this part of Tampa. Home values in the zip code are well above both the Florida state median and the national median, and typical rents are meaningfully higher than in much of the region. Values have edged down slightly over the past year, mirroring a broader cooling trend across the Tampa market, but the area remains expensive by most measures. Families renting here are spending a substantial share of income on housing relative to national norms.
Two district-level developments are worth knowing. Hillsborough County voters approved a property tax referendum in late 2024 that took effect in mid-2025, adding a meaningful annual cost for homeowners in exchange for multi-year funding directed at teacher and support-staff salaries. For families buying into the Citrus Park area, this is a real carrying cost to factor in. Separately, the district executed a large-scale school boundary rezoning for the 2024-2025 school year, reshuffling assignments across dozens of schools and affecting a substantial number of students countywide. Families should confirm their current assignment at Deer Park and whether any further boundary adjustments are anticipated.
Because Hillsborough County has only one district in the comparison set, meaningful side-by-side positioning against neighboring districts was not possible with the available data.
Deer Park shapes up as a school where quantitatively minded families will find math outcomes particularly reassuring, where the student body is economically stable and ethnically diverse, and where the neighborhood context is quiet and residential rather than urban. The reading picture warrants a closer look, and the limited program data leaves some real questions open.
See more original research from School Decision →